COVID-19 - Resumption of general school elections for English-language school boards

QUÉBEC CITY, Nov. 13, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - To ensure that school elections during the COVID-19 pandemic take place in a safe manner, both for electors and election staff, the Ministère de l'Éducation is announcing that the school election process will be adapted and that elections will take place on December 20, 2020.

This new date is valid for all school boards, even if their territory is considered to be located in a "red zone" by the public health authorities. However, new measures will be implemented to limit the number of individuals present in polling stations in an effort to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.

To support the school boards, the Protocole sanitaire visant à réduire les risques de propagation de la COVID-19 lors de la tenue de toute élection scolaire (health protocol for reducing the risk of spreading COVID-19 during school elections) and the Guide d'application du vote par correspondance (implementation guide for mail-in votes) will be updated. (Both documents are available in French only.)

Highlights:

• It should be noted that the election of chairs and commissioners in English-language school boards should have taken place on November 1, 2020. However, because all the positions to be filled by an election were located in red zones, no elections were held on that date.
• Of the nine chair positions to be filled, six candidates were elected without opposition and took office on November 6, 2020. As a result, two positions still need to be decided by an election, and one position remains vacant. In the case of the vacant position, a new election process will be undertaken at a later date.
• Of the 95 commissioner positions, 83 were elected without opposition, 7 must be decided by an election, and 5 remain vacant. In the case of the vacant positions, a new election process must likewise be undertaken at a later date.
• The measures for promoting physical distancing consist mainly in adding an extra day for advanced polling (December 12) and for the election itself (December 19), and adjusting the time during which polling stations will be open.
• In addition, mail-in voting will be available to electors living in a long-term care facility (CHSLD) or in a private residence, and these electors will be permitted to use their own pencils to vote. In fact, mail-in voting will replace mobile polling stations and will be made available to categories of individuals who do not unusually have access to mobile polling stations.
• The additional categories of individuals who will have access to mail-in voting are as follows:
• Individuals who have returned from travel abroad in the previous 14 days
• Individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are still considered contagious
• Individuals who exhibit symptoms associated with COVID-19
• Individuals who have come into contact with a suspected case of COVID-19, whether probable or confirmed, in the previous 14 days
• Individuals waiting for a COVID-19 test result

Related links:

Consult the web page on school elections.

SOURCE Ministère de l'Éducation

Person responsible for press relations, Ministère de l'Éducation, Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur, Ministère de la Famille, 418-528-2265, extension 3144, [email protected]